Sprint will start selling the first tri-band-capable smartphones for its enhanced LTE Sprint Spark network on Nov. 8, the carrier announced.

The handsets, which also feature HD voice capabilities, are the LG G2, Samsung Galaxy Mega, and Samsung Galaxy S 4 mini. The Sprint Spark-ready HTC One max is also coming to Sprint stores at an unspecified time in the coming weeks, as is a mystery phone (pictured) which the carrier kept under wraps at an event held at the Sprint Innovation Center in Burlingame, Calif. on Wednesday

Sprint billed the new devices as being the "first smartphones to bring Sprint Spark to life" by taking advantage of the carrier's overhauled wireless broadband network.

Also on Wednesday, Sprint offered details about how it plans to roll out Sprint Spark in the United States over the next two years and more than double the wireless broadband speed on its 4G-LTE network by the end of 2014, while also increasing coverage and capacity significantly.

Sprint Spark is now up and running in five marketsNew York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Tampa. Sprint said its plan is to turn on Sprint Spark in another couple dozen markets in 2014, with 100 major U.S. cities set to be covered within three years, delivering "unprecedented speeds by combining three bands of 4G LTE wireless spectrum" and "providing data session continuity" as devices move between the available 800 MHz, 1.9 GHz, and 2.5 GHz spectrum bands on the network.

The LG G2, Samsung Galaxy Mega, and Samsung Galaxy S 4 mini will arrive in Sprint stores next Friday. The two Samsung phones will get a software update making them tri-band capable shortly after launch, Sprint said, while the LG G2 will get the update early next year.

The first phones to take advantage of the Sprint Spark network come in a variety of sizes and a nice range of price points.

Samsung's whopping, phablet-sized Galaxy Mega sports a 6.3-inch HD touch screen display and features a "hybrid design" to make it easy to "go from a conference call with a client to a video call with family without the hassle of having to carry two devices," according to Sprint. It's priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract or $19.95 per month through Sprint's One Up program.

The HTC One max is another big fella, boasting a 5.9-inch HD display and a quad-core, 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor under the hood. It'll set you back $259.99 with a two-year contract or $25.00 per month with Sprint One Up.

LG's G2 is set to become the first smartphone available in the U.S. with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chip inside. The G2 has a 5.2-inch HD display which stretches across nearly its full width thanks to a minimal bezel, plus a 13-megapixel camera, all for $199.99 from Sprint with a two-year service agreement or $22.92 per month via Sprint One Up.

Finally, there's the pocket-sized Samsung Galaxy S 4 mini, featuring a 4.3-inch HD display and a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, which can be had for $99.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate card and a two-year contract from Sprint, or $16.67 per month with Sprint One Up.

The carrier also teased another new Sprint Spark-ready smartphone coming soon to its stores, but declined to name the vendor, price, or specs, only saying cryptically that the device under wraps features several "firsts" in the smartphone world.

About the Author

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Ch... See Full Bio

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